The Hidden Moth Gauze is an incredibly magical treasure; wearing it allows one to disguise themselves as nearly anyone. The closer one’s physique and understanding to the target, the more effective the disguise.What’s even more magical is that the Hidden Moth Gauze’s spell is a one-time casting with long-term stabilization, colloquially known as "put it on and don’t worry about it," meaning once the disguise is complete, there’s no need to focus on controlling the artifact.
Even a master like Hu Weidong, while able to sense that the "Hidden Moth" is not showing its true form, couldn’t see through He Kao’s disguise. Thus, the Hidden Moth Gauze became the treasure He Kao relied on and used the most.
However, there are known items in the world that can see through the Hidden Moth Gauze’s disguise. The first is the Demon-Revealing Mirror inside the ancestral hall at the Phoenix Tail Town; the other, more powerful item is the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror.
The Demon-Revealing Mirror is a heavy instrument placed in a fixed location, and no one would carry it around. But the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror is a divine artifact that can be carried around, posing a direct threat to He Kao’s identity security.
Mei Guyu pointed this out and then looked at He Kao, asking, "Did you gain anything from planning this matter, senior brother?"
He Kao indeed gained quite a bit, which includes goodwill from various parties, growth in experience, and acquiring two artifacts, the Celestial Net Umbrella and the Observation Hall Ruler. But clearly, this was not what Mei Guyu was asking about.
He Kao answered shyly, "I did gain something. My Lingxi Skill has now advanced to Tier Three, ascending from Tier Two Dust Guest to Tier Three Prophet."
He Kao’s cultivation of the Lingxi Skill had always been difficult, his achievement almost at the bottom among all magical techniques. It was only by practicing pills with Wei Luo that he barely entered as a Tier One Observer, and when he broke the Illusion Realm to become a Tier Six Master Yan, he then smoothly advanced to Tier Two Dust Guest.
Unexpectedly, today he ascended further, having achieved Tier Three Prophet.
Mei Guyu praised, "After breaking through Tier Six cultivation, everyone has the ability of deduction. Their foresight rivals that of cultivators in the Lingxi Sect and greatly assists in practicing the Lingxi Skill, but there are still differences between the two.
Although I am not a cultivator of the Lingxi Sect, I have also mastered the inheritance of the Lingxi Technique Formulas.
Being outside the chess game and yet within it, observing causes, predicting outcomes, using causes to set the situation, and from the situation, achieving the result. This is the advancing ritual of the Lingxi Skill.
What you have done recently is precisely to complete this ritual, and you’ve set up the ritual quite brilliantly!"
It was unsurprising that Mei Guyu claimed to have mastered the inheritance of the Lingxi Technique Formulas because every elder in the Sect’s Law Hall must master the complete fundamental techniques of each major magic sect, regardless of whether they co-practice them.
However, He Kao explained, "I didn’t do it intentionally. What Uncle Jiang passed to me is an ancient technique, which doesn’t include various advanced rituals summarized later."
Mei Guyu said, "Even if it wasn’t intentional, it was still harmonious! The so-called advancing ritual is just a convenient method mainly targeting those disciples whose efforts are perfect but lack comprehension. My master told me not to pay too much attention to it back then."
He Kao sighed, "Is the ritual to ascend from Tier Two to Tier Three in the Lingxi Skill really so challenging? What happened today, being able to accomplish it as planned is indeed not easy, no wonder disciples of the Lingxi Sect are always so few..."
Mei Guyu laughed, "Who said this is the ritual for ascending from Tier Two Dust Guest to Tier Three Prophet?"
He Kao asked, "Isn’t it?"
"Of course not!" Mei Guyu couldn’t help but laugh, "What I just talked about was the ritual for a Tier Four Divine Stick to advance to a Tier Five Wanderer."
He Kao asked, "Ah? Then how did I..."
Mei Guyu replied, "Then how did you not become a Tier Five Wanderer? Software was upgraded, so the hardware configuration also needs to keep up. In any magical technique, each realm layer must be cultivated step by step, and you haven’t started cultivating yet.
In the future, you only need to develop your cultivation efforts to a sufficient level, and becoming a Tier Five Wanderer won’t be difficult. However, after Tier Five, each realm advancement doesn’t have ready-made rituals...
Senior brother, why are you blanking out, could it be that after hearing these few words, you’ve become a wanderer, lost in the Floating Colors Grotto Heaven?"
This was, of course, a joke. It wasn’t possible for He Kao’s Lingxi Skill cultivation to suddenly become a Tier Five Wanderer just by listening to a few words; he was momentarily absent-minded.
When Mei Guyu mentioned the Lingxi Skill cultivation and advancing rituals just now, it seemed that a flash of inspiration crossed He Kao’s mind, as if he’d thought of something very important. He quickly stabilized his mind, attempting to capture this fleeting inspiration.
After Tier Five, if cultivation continues to advance by breaking the gate, are there no advancing rituals? It’s as if there is none yet there is, there is yet there is none, but you can still seek the opportunity for perfect merit and conduct and breakthrough of realm in the process of completing something.
However, this so-called "ritual" has no fixed rule; it requires the combination of personal encounters, worldly developments, and unique insights during cultivation, just like how no two people are exactly alike, their opportunities cannot be replicated.
He Kao now vaguely realized that restoring the Hidden Moth Lineage’s inheritance was akin to the ceremony for Jiang Daozhen to advance to Tier Seven Grand Calculator, but recently Jiang Daozhen announced seclusion, facing tribulations, the specific time is difficult to estimate.
Breaking through to Tier Eight cultivation is said to require undergoing tests of transformation and rebirth; if successful, it is naturally beneficial, but if failed, it may mean not seeing him again.
The cultivation of the Lingxi Skill is too peculiar, seemingly incomprehensible and unreasonable to outsiders, yet to the eyes of masters, it has a traceable path.
Then, according to his usual habits, what kind of unique advancement ritual did he design for this Breaking the Gate... He Kao suddenly realized that it might be related to a certain item, the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror!
How did he plan and strategize? In hindsight, personally arranging He Kao to travel to Phoenix Tail Town was the first move Jiang Daozhen made.
Jiang Daozhen had long known that Zhao Ci was dissatisfied with the allocation of the Pure Yang Pill, so he deliberately arranged for He Kao to stay at the villa managed by Zhao Ci, anticipating that Zhao Ci might stir up some trouble in secret.
To prevent any accidents, he also arranged for Li Xiuyuan to secretly protect He Kao, and as expected, an accident did occur...
Zhao Ci was punished by the Sect Law Hall, with his cultivation indefinitely sealed until he sincerely repents. This is an almost impossible standard to prove, which might mean being unable to use magical techniques for life.
Thus, Zhao Ci becomes a hook, because there are only two people and one item that can unseal him.
The first one is Jiang Daozhen himself, who imposed the seal. He obviously won’t secretly unseal Zhao Ci, especially since he has already gone into seclusion.
The second is an expert with at least Tier Seven Observing Body Skill cultivation, and that would be Zhao Sanjin. It was unknown if Zhao Sanjin was still alive, and even if he was, it was inconvenient for him to act.
After becoming a Supreme Elder, Zhao Sanjin can no longer meddle in sect affairs. Punishing Zhao Ci was the decision of the Sect Law Hall, and if he unsealed the ban privately, it would be opposing them, something the Xiao Alliance might eagerly wish for.
However, if someone else secretly unseals Zhao Ci, it also has nothing to do with Zhao Sanjin, aligning with the principle of non-interference.
So who else has this capability? It must be a master from the Xiao Alliance holding the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror.
From Zhao Ci’s perspective, having painstakingly cultivated divine techniques, only to suddenly be reduced to a mortal, such a disparity is unbearable. If someone was to tempt him with this condition, Zhao Ci might be persuaded by the Xiao Alliance.
Even if Zhao Ci himself had no such intention, if someone forcefully did it, he actually couldn’t resist, and it couldn’t be said he violated the Sect Law Hall’s regulations, as he wasn’t the one who unsealed it!
But at that time, could he explain it clearly?
Jiang Daozhen had already anticipated this possibility, so his second move was to give Zhao Ci a secret order while punishing him, also providing him a chance to render merit while wearing a crime.
Jiang Daozhen instructed Zhao Ci that if someone secretly contacted him intending to unseal him, he could agree to their demands, but must immediately send a message...
Jiang Daozhen also instructed He Kao to regularly monitor Zhao Ci’s condition and note any unusual circumstances around him... Yet all this time, there’s been no movement from Zhao Ci’s side, and He Kao is growing quite impatient!
The reason He Kao showed up today as Zhao Sanjin was to "remind" some people in the Xiao Alliance not to forget about Zhao Ci and to quickly execute any backup plans.
Today’s event seemed like a gambling duel, but in essence, both sides were discussing how to cooperate and coexist.
If even "Zhao Sanjin" showed up here, it hints at the possibility of some cooperation with the Xiao Alliance, at least some sort of tacit understanding—this was He Kao’s misdirection to the Xiao Alliance.
He Kao had a strong grasp of the Xiao Alliance’s nature; they have always dreamed of overthrowing the Magic Sect, occupying the Grotto Heaven, and forever controlling the orthodox transmission of techniques, never giving up on opportunities to infiltrate and dismantle the sect.
The Xiao Alliance’s favorite tactic is to foster and win over dissident forces within the Magic Sect, such as the former Huiming Shi Family, and now they should have their eyes on the Huailin Lineage.
In fact, the ownership of the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror is a centuries-old historical issue, and the Magic Sect, unlike the Xiao Alliance, cannot directly seize it. But if some members of the Xiao Alliance bring about their own demise by using the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror to cause trouble, then it can be conveniently reclaimed.
He Kao had long been aware of Uncle Jiang’s plan, as he was a participant in it, always trying to advance the matter. But he just suddenly realized that this might also be a kind of advancement ritual designed by Jiang Daozhen.
He went through two idle moves and then went into seclusion... If this is indeed the case, by the time the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror is recovered, perhaps he would successfully emerge from seclusion!
He Kao couldn’t help but sigh, Uncle Jiang always designs things to be so thrilling, exciting, and challenging! Restoring the Hidden Moth Lineage and retrieving the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace were not enough; now he’s scheming for the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror.
Does he intend to solve all the unresolved issues of a millennium within one generation?
He Kao’s thoughts turned so much as he heard Mei Guyu’s question, and only then did he come back to his senses, explaining, "Hearing your words, I just suddenly thought of Uncle Jiang, wondering how he’s doing..."
He didn’t tell Mei Guyu everything he was thinking; it’s not that he didn’t trust him, but many things were only his own assumptions, even Uncle Jiang has never mentioned them, so speaking out might not be good.
Fortunately, he helped Hu Weidong resolve the gambling duel for now, establishing a solid cooperative relationship between the two, so many plans can proceed smoothly... He Kao knows that Hu Weidong will definitely take the initiative to contact him.
**